Friday, July 22, 2016

George's Sea Stars

One of my biggest goals this summer is to find a living sea star out on the Boston Harbor Islands. I had heard rumors of sightings from other colleagues who had gone out and seen some on George’s Islands. The weeks we have been out on George’s I’ve searched feverishly for the five-armed echinoderms, but have come up with no luck. You can imagine how envious I was when I found out the group at the Courageous pulled some up with their crab traps.

A large group of kids were exploring the water line on Thursday and I joined them in one of my favorite activates. As they looked for sea glass and crab claws, eagerly showing off their findings to their camp mates, and myself I was keeping my eye out for a star. While I was talking to one girl another girl came running but to me “Look what we found! What is it?” In her hand was a sea star! On closer inspection I saw that the sea star was not alive but was the endoskeleton of a sea star that was bleach white. Even though it wasn’t a live sea star it was the first evidence I have personally found of sea stars in Boston Harbor. The founders of the white sea stars promptly decided that the sea star skeleton was less interesting than the shiny, colorful sea glass and tossed it back into the sea.

The hunt will have to continue for the elusive sea stars in two weeks when we return to George’s for the last time this summer. Hopefully this time the search will be more fruitful!

Search This Blog

Welcome!

Save the Harbor/Save the Bayis a non-profit public-interest Boston Harbor environmental advocacy organization whose mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, the Boston Harbor Islands, the Boston Harbor region's public beaches, Boston's waterfront and the marine environment and share them with the public, for everyone to enjoy.

Since 1986, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay has been the driving force behind the transformation of Boston Harbor from one of the dirtiest urban harbors in America to one of the cleanest in the world.

As a result of our advocacy, Boston Harbor has been transformed from a "Harbor of Shame" into a source of recreational, educational and economic opportunity and civic pride. Today the beaches of South Boston are among the cleanest urban beaches in the nation, the Boston Harbor Islands are a National Park, and Boston's waterfront has become a compelling destination for residents and visitors alike.

Working with a broad base of civic, corporate, government, scientific, philanthropic and community partners, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay continues to strengthen the connections between communities and the harbor, and promote the increasingly important impact Boston Harbor has on the region’s economy.

Each year Save the Harbor / Save the Bay runs 2 freeYouth Environmental Education Programs that combine recreation and hands-on education to bring Boston Harbor alive for thousands of Boston area young people. Since 2003, we have connected nearly 250,000 youth and teens to Boston Harbor, the Boston Harbor Islands, our region's public beaches and Boston's waterfront.

Our "Boston Harbor Explorers" program serves thousands of young people at the Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, the Piers Park Sailing Center and Constitution Beach in East Boston, DCR's Carson Beach in South Boston, at Community Boating on the Charles River, on Black's Creek in Quincy, and at Camp Harbor View on Long Island and at The Boston Children's Museum.Our"All Access Boston Harbor"program departs weekdays from the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in South Boston, and brings thousands of youth and teens from more than 100 community groups to Georges or Spectacle Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park on the Provincetown II.

OurBetter Beaches Program supports dozens of free events and activities on the region's public beaches each year in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.

We hope we can count on you as we share Boston Harbor with 30,000 young people on 28 free island excursions and at 40 free events and programs on the region's public beaches in 2018.For more information about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay please visit our website at www.savetheharbor.org